The Gazette 1976

GAZETTE

January-February 1976

which have no effect on trade between EEC Member States are not subject to the Treaty. Licences limited to only the use or the manufacture or the sale of the patented product, or to a specified field of use (pro- vided it is objectively real and so causes specialisation rather than market sharing) and licences to manufac- ture only in a given Member State, would normally be valid. Clauses requiring payment of royalties, including minimum royalties, are of course valid unless they out- last the life of the patent or, in the case of differential royalties, are disguised export restrictions. Limits on the duration of a licence, if shorter than or equal to the life of the patents, are permissable. Clauses prohibiting sub-licensing or assignment, or requiring minimum pro- duction levels or necessary quality standards, or requir- ing goods to be marked, do not restrict competition. If proper quality can only be ensured if the licensee uses the patentee's raw materials or components, a "tying" clause binding him to do so is legitimate. Secrecy obligations, arbitration clauses and most-favoured- licensee clauses are valid, and so are clauses requiring the parties to grant new technology to one another, provided they are reciprocal and non-exclusive. These remarks relate to simple patent licences: it is difficult to make general statements about patent pools, cross- licensing, joint ventures and agreements for future patents. In several recent decisions the Commission has made it clear that sole or exclusive licences, in which the patentee binds himself not to grant any other licences and not to use the technology himself, fall within Art. 85 if trade between Member States is affected. They should therefore be notified to the EEC Commission. This is because the licence restricts the freedom of the EUOROPA INSTITUTE — UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM Courses in European Integration A General Course, as well as a Specialised Follow-Up Course, in the Legal Aspects of European Integration will be held in the Europa Institute of the University of Amsterdam, 508 Herengracht, Amsterdam, from 16th to 27th August, 1976. The course will be in English, and the Tuition Fee is 750 Dutch Guilders (about £150 at current exchange rate). The lecturers for the General Course are the authors of Leading cases and materials on the Law of the European Communities, Drs. Volker, Schermers, Winter and Gijlstra. The Specialist Follow-Up Course which is separate from the General Course, will comprise lec- tures on the Judicial Remedies by Dr. Schermers, The Relationship between National Law and Community Law by Professor Baardman, Company Law and the Right of Establishment by Professor Schrans and Industrial property by Professor Van Gerven. Of the total fee of £150, £25 must be paid before 15th July and is not refundable. The balance may be paid on registration. Participants are expected to arrange their own accommodation. Application Forms are available from the Netherlands Universities Foundation for International Co-operation (NUFFIC), 27 Molenstraat, The Hague, Netherlands, and should be returned before 1st July, 1976. COURSES IN EUROPEAN LAW

patentee to exploit his invention, and deprives all other potential licensees of access to the technology. However, if it is really "indispensable" that the licence is ex- clusive, it would normally be approved by the Com- mission under Art. 85 (3), EEC Treaty. Clauses remaining in force longer than the life of the patent or the knowhow normally restrict competition, and are illegal unless approved. So are prohibitions on dealing in competing products, and clauses requiring the licensee to include specified conditions in his con- tracts with buyers. Exclusive or non-reciprocal grant- back obligations, and clauses requiring royalties to be paid on goods not made by the process or not incor- porating the knowhow or invention licensed, are nor- mally illegal. Contractual territorial restrictions on direct sales, and clauses preventing the licensee from contest- ing the validity of patents licensed, would require strong justification to obtain exemption. Quantity re- strictions are normally not permitted. Neither are re- strictions on the exact place of manufacture or on the way the licensee may sell (e.g. in bulk, wholesale or only to certain customers). If the licensee is given a veto on the granting of further licences, the licence would be treated as a sole or exclusive licence. Any clause which would otherwise be illegal may nevertheless be approved by the Commission under Art. 85 (3) provided that it improves production or distribution or promotes technical or economic progress, while giving consumers a fair share of the benefit. Also the restriction on competition must be no more than is indispensable to obtain the benefit, and competition in respect of a substantial part of the products involved must not be eliminated or capable of being eliminated by the parties. Under the auspices of the Wiener-Ansbach Founda- tion, a Course entitled "Introduction to Civil Law and to the Law of the European Communities" will be held in the Faculty of Law of the Free University of Brussels, 39 Avenue F. D. Roosevelt, Brussels 1050, from July 26 to August 27, 1976. The term "Civil Law" includes Commercial Law, Law of Contract, Civil and Administrative Procedure, and even Crimi- nal Law. The term "Law of the European Com- munities" includes Community Institutions, The Sources and Applicability of Community Law, Com- petition, Establishment, Social Law, Tax Law, and the Law of the Environment. As the course will be given in French, by eminent Belgian and French professors, it is essential for applicants to have a sufficient know- ledge of French to follow a lecture and to participate in a discussion. The Foundation has appointed various Professors in Britain and Ireland to screen applica- tions in the first instance. National University graduates should first get in touch with Professor Niall Osborough, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University College, Belfield, Dublin 4, enclosing a relevant Cur- riculum Vitae. Graduates of the University of Dublin should get in touch with Professor Mary Robinson, Faculty of Law, Trinity College, Dublin 2. A number of scholarships amounting on an average to £275 to cover fees, fares and maintenance expenses will be awarded. The admission fee to the course is £25 (2,000 Belgian Francs) and the latest date for receipt of applications in Brussels is 15th April, 1976. BRUSSELS UNIVERSITY Course in European Law

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